IIA 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. J. RES. 44 

Granting the consent of Congress to the State and Province Emergency 

Management Assistance Memorandum of Understanding. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2012 

Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Granting the consent of Congress to the State and Province 

Emergency Management Assistance Memorandum of Understanding. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT. 

4 Congress consents to the State and Province Emer5 gency Management Assistance Memorandum of Under6 standing entered into between States of Illinois, Indiana, 

7 Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, 

8 Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin, and the CanaVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:48 Jun 19, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ44.IS SJ44

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1 dian Provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Sas2 katchewan. The compact is substantially as follows: 

3 ‘‘ARTICLE I—PURPOSE AND AUTHORITIES

4 ‘‘The State and Province Emergency Management 

5 Assistance Memorandum of Understanding, hereinafter 

6 referred to as the ‘compact’, is made and entered into by 

7 and among such of the jurisdictions as shall enact or 

8 adopt this compact, hereinafter referred to as ‘partici9 pating jurisdictions’. For the purposes of this compact, the 

10 term ‘jurisdictions’ may include any or all of the States 

11 of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, 

12 North Dakota, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin, 

13 and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, On14 tario, and Saskatchewan, and such other States and prov15 inces as may hereafter become a party to this compact. 

16 The term ‘States’ means the several States, the Common17 wealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and all 

18 territorial possessions of the United States. The term 

19 ‘Province’ means the 10 political units of government 

20 within Canada. 

21 ‘‘The purpose of this compact is to provide for the 

22 possibility of mutual assistance among the participating 

23 jurisdictions in managing any emergency or disaster when 

24 the affected jurisdiction or jurisdictions ask for assistance, 

25 whether arising from natural disaster, technological hazVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:48 Jun 19, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ44.IS SJ44

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1 ard, manmade disaster or civil emergency aspects of re2 sources shortages. 

3 ‘‘This compact also provides for the process of plan4 ning mechanisms among the agencies responsible and for 

5 mutual cooperation, including civil emergency prepared6 ness exercises, testing, or other training activities using 

7 equipment and personnel simulating performance of any 

8 aspect of the giving and receiving of aid by participating 

9 jurisdictions or subdivisions of participating jurisdictions 

10 during emergencies, with such actions occurring outside 

11 emergency periods. 

12 ‘‘ARTICLE II—GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION

13 ‘‘Each participating jurisdiction entering into this 

14 compact recognizes that many emergencies may exceed the 

15 capabilities of a participating jurisdiction and that inter16 governmental cooperation is essential in such cir17 cumstances. Each participating jurisdiction further recog18 nizes that there will be emergencies that may require im19 mediate access and present procedures to apply outside 

20 resources to make a prompt and effective response to such 

21 an emergency because few, if any, individual jurisdictions 

22 have all the resources they need in all types of emergencies 

23 or the capability of delivering resources to areas where 

24 emergencies exist. 


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1 ‘‘On behalf of the participating jurisdictions in the 

2 compact, the legally designated official who is assigned re3 sponsibility for emergency management is responsible for 

4 formulation of the appropriate inter-jurisdictional mutual 

5 aid plans and procedures necessary to implement this com6 pact, and for recommendations to the participating juris7 diction concerned with respect to the amendment of any 

8 statutes, regulations, or ordinances required for that pur9 pose. 

10 ‘‘ARTICLE III—PARTICIPATING JURISDICTION

11 RESPONSIBILITIES

12 ‘‘(a) FORMULATE PLANS AND PROGRAMS.—It is the 

13 responsibility of each participating jurisdiction to formu14 late procedural plans and programs for inter-jurisdictional 

15 cooperation in the performance of the responsibilities list16 ed in this section. In formulating and implementing such 

17 plans and programs the participating jurisdictions, to the 

18 extent practical, may— 

19 ‘‘(1) share and review individual jurisdiction 

20 hazards analyses that are available and determine all 

21 those potential emergencies the participating juris22 dictions might jointly suffer, whether due to natural 

23 disaster, technological hazard, man-made disaster or 

24 emergency aspects of resource shortages; 


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1 ‘‘(2) share emergency operations plans, proce2 dures, and protocols established by each of the par3 ticipating jurisdictions before entering into this com4 pact; 

5 ‘‘(3) share policies and procedures for resource 

6 mobilization, tracking, demobilization, and reim7 bursement; 

8 ‘‘(4) consider joint planning, training, and exer9 cises; 

10 ‘‘(5) assist with alerts, notifications, and warn11 ings for communities adjacent to or crossing partici12 pating jurisdiction boundaries; 

13 ‘‘(6) consider procedures to facilitate the move14 ment of evacuees, refugees, civil emergency per15 sonnel, equipment, or other resources into or across 

16 boundaries, or to a designated staging area when it 

17 is agreed that such movement or staging will facili18 tate civil emergency operations by the affected or 

19 participating jurisdictions; and 

20 ‘‘(7) provide, to the extent authorized by law, 

21 for temporary suspension of any statutes or ordi22 nances that impeded the implementation of respon23 sibilities described in this section. 

24 ‘‘(b) REQUEST ASSISTANCE.—The authorized rep25 resentative of a participating jurisdiction may request asVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:48 Jun 19, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ44.IS SJ44

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1 sistance of another participating jurisdiction by contacting 

2 the authorized representative of that jurisdiction. These 

3 provisions only apply to requests for assistance made by 

4 and to authorized representatives. Requests may be verbal 

5 or in writing. If verbal, the request must be confirmed in 

6 writing within 15 days of the verbal request. Requests 

7 must provide the following information: 

8 ‘‘(1) A description of the emergency service 

9 function for which assistance is needed and of the 

10 mission or missions, including but not limited to fire 

11 services, emergency medical, transportation, commu12 nications, public works and engineering, building in13 spection, planning and information assistance, mass 

14 care, resource support, health and medical services, 

15 and search and rescue. 

16 ‘‘(2) The amount and type of personnel, equip17 ment, materials, and supplies needed and a reason18 able estimate of the length of time they will be need19 ed. 

20 ‘‘(3) The specific place and time for staging of 

21 the assisting participating jurisdictions’s response 

22 and a point of contact at the location. 

23 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION AMONG PARTICIPATING JURIS24 DICTION OFFICIALS.—There shall be periodic consultation 


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1 among the authorized representatives who have assigned 

2 emergency management responsibilities. 

3 ‘‘ARTICLE IV—LIMITATION

4 ‘‘It is recognized that any participating jurisdiction 

5 that agrees to render mutual aid or conduct exercises and 

6 training for mutual aid will respond as soon as possible. 

7 It is also recognized that the participating jurisdiction ren8 dering aid may withhold or recall resources to provide rea9 sonable protection for itself, at its discretion. To the ex10 tent authorized by law, each participating jurisdiction will 

11 afford to the personnel of the emergency contingent of any 

12 other participating jurisdiction while operating within its 

13 jurisdiction limits under the terms and conditions of this 

14 agreement and under the operational control of an officer 

15 of the requesting participating jurisdiction the same treat16 ment as is afforded similar or like human resources of the 

17 participating jurisdiction in which they are performing 

18 emergency services. Staff comprising the emergency con19 tingent continue under the command and control of their 

20 regular leaders but the organizational units come under 

21 the operational control of the emergency services authori22 ties of the participating jurisdiction receiving assistance. 

23 These conditions may be activated, as needed, by the par24 ticipating jurisdiction that is to receive assistance or upon 

25 commencement of exercises or training for mutual aid and 


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1 continue as long as the exercises or training for mutual 

2 aid are in progress, the emergency or disaster remains in 

3 effect or loaned resources remain in the receiving partici4 pating jurisdictions, whichever is longer. The receiving 

5 participating jurisdiction is responsible for informing the 

6 assisting participating jurisdiction when services will no 

7 longer be required. 

8 ‘‘ARTICLE V—LICENSES AND PERMITS

9 ‘‘Whenever a person holds a license, certificate, or 

10 other permit issued by any participating jurisdiction evi11 dencing the meeting of qualifications for professional, me12 chanical, or other skills, and when such assistance is re13 quested by the receiving participating jurisdiction, such 

14 person is deemed to be licensed, certified, or permitted by 

15 the jurisdiction requesting assistance to render aid involv16 ing such skill to meet an emergency or disaster, subject 

17 to such limitations and conditions as the requesting juris18 diction prescribes by Executive order or otherwise. 

19 ‘‘ARTICLE VI—LIABILITY

20 ‘‘Any person or entity of a participating jurisdiction 

21 rendering aid in another jurisdiction pursuant to this com22 pact is considered an agent of the requesting jurisdiction 

23 for tort liability and immunity purposes. Any person or 

24 entity rendering aid in another jurisdiction pursuant to 

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1 sion in good faith on the part of such forces while so en2 gaged or on account of the maintenance or use of any 

3 equipment or supplies in connection therewith. Good faith 

4 in this article does not include willful misconduct, gross 

5 negligence, or recklessness. 

6 ‘‘ARTICLE VII—SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENTS

7 ‘‘Because it is probable that the pattern and detail 

8 of the compact for mutual aid among 2 or more partici9 pating jurisdictions may differ from that among the par10 ticipating jurisdictions that are party to this compact, this 

11 compact contains elements of a broad base common to all 

12 participating jurisdictions, and nothing in this compact 

13 precludes any participating jurisdiction from entering into 

14 supplementary agreements with another jurisdiction or af15 fects any other agreements already in force among partici16 pating jurisdictions. 

17 ‘‘Supplementary agreements may include, but are not 

18 limited to, provisions for evacuation and reception of in19 jured and other persons and the exchange of medical, fire, 

20 public utility, reconnaissance, welfare, transportation and 

21 communications personnel, equipment, and supplies. 

22 ‘‘ARTICLE VIII—WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AND DEATH

23 BENEFITS

24 ‘‘Each participating jurisdiction shall provide, in ac25 cordance with its own laws, for the payment of workers’ 


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1 compensation and death benefits to injured members of 

2 the emergency contingent of that participating jurisdiction 

3 and to representatives of deceased members of those forces 

4 if the members sustain injuries or are killed while ren5 dering aid pursuant to this compact, in the same manner 

6 and on the same terms as if the injury or death were sus7 tained within their own jurisdiction. 

8 ‘‘ARTICLE IX—REIMBURSEMENT

9 ‘‘Any participating jurisdiction rendering aid in an10 other jurisdiction pursuant to this compact shall, if re11 quested, be reimbursed by the participating jurisdiction 

12 receiving such aid for any loss or damage to, or expense 

13 incurred in, the operation of any equipment and the provi14 sion of any service in answering a request for aid and for 

15 the costs incurred in connection with those requests. An 

16 aiding participating jurisdiction may assume in whole or 

17 in part any such loss, damage, expense, or other cost or 

18 may loan such equipment or donate such services to the 

19 receiving participating jurisdiction without charge or cost. 

20 Any 2 or more participating jurisdictions may enter into 

21 supplementary agreements establishing a different alloca22 tion of costs among those jurisdictions. Expenses under 

23 article VIII are not reimbursable under this section. 


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1 ‘‘ARTICLE X—IMPLEMENTATION

2 ‘‘(a) This compact is effective upon its execution or 

3 adoption by any 1 State and 1 province, and is effective 

4 as to any other jurisdiction upon its execution or adoption 

5 thereby: subject to approval or authorization by the 

6 United States Congress, if required, and subject to enact7 ment of provincial or State legislation that may be re8 quired for the effectiveness of the Memorandum of Under9 standing. 

10 ‘‘(b) Additional jurisdictions may participate in this 

11 compact upon execution or adoption thereof. 

12 ‘‘(c) Any participating jurisdiction may withdraw 

13 from this compact, but the withdrawal does not take effect 

14 until 30 days after the governor or premier of the with15 drawing jurisdiction has given notice in writing of such 

16 withdrawal to the governors or premiers of all other par17 ticipating jurisdictions. The action does not relieve the 

18 withdrawing jurisdiction from obligations assumed under 

19 this compact prior to the effective date of withdrawal. 

20 ‘‘(d) Duly authenticated copies of this compact in the 

21 French and English languages and of such supplementary 

22 agreements as may be entered into shall, at the time of 

23 their approval, be deposited with each of the participating 

24 jurisdictions. 


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1 ‘‘ARTICLE XI—SEVERABILITY

2 ‘‘This compact is construed to effectuate the purposes 

3 stated in Article I. If any provision of this compact is de4 clared unconstitutional or the applicability of the compact 

5 to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity 

6 of the remainder of this compact and the applicability of 

7 the compact to other persons and circumstances are not 

8 affected. 

9 ‘‘ARTICLE XII—CONSISTENCY OF LANGUAGE

10 ‘‘The validity of the arrangements and agreements 

11 consented to in this compact shall not be affected by any 

12 insubstantial difference in form or language as may be 

13 adopted by the various states and provinces.’’. 

14 SEC. 2. INCONSISTENCY OF LANGUAGE. 

15 The validity of the arrangements consented to by this 

16 Act shall not be affected by any insubstantial difference 

17 in their form or language as adopted by the States and 

18 provinces. 

19 SEC. 3. RIGHT TO ALTER, AMEND, OR REPEAL. 

20 The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby 

21 expressly reserved. 

Æ 


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